In a highly-anticipated battle between two dominant run games, it was Cal's defense who led the Bears to a 24-17 win over Boise State in the LA Bowl on Thursday night.
The Bears held the Heisman-trophy and record-setting Ashton Jeanty to just 100 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries, limiting him to just one run of double-digit yards. More importantly, they were able to ensure he didn't stiff-arm them into oblivion as he's done to everyone else this season, limiting the beastly back to a mere 34 yards after contact—more than 50 yards below his per-game average.
Chandler Rogers and Jaydn Ott returned from suspension to play key roles in the win. While Ott was also locked up most of the game, rushing for just 86 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, he came up with multiple big runs in clutch moments especially in the fourth quarter.
Rogers also picked up 33 yards on seven carries, while completing 13 of 17 passes for 140 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was fortunate to not turn it over twice inside the 10 yard line, however, as he fumbled and had a teammate recover on a run while later having a pick dropped in the endzone.
Cal's defense made the biggest play of the game in the fourth quarter, with Boise State looking to tie the game up at 17 a piece. On fourth down, Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen threw a pick at the goal line—just one of three passes on the day that didn't get caught by a teammate. Linebacker Cade Uluave returned it 45 yards, setting the Bears up to drive for a go-ahead and ultimately game-winning touchdown.
"I'm so proud of this defense's performance," head coach JasonUK said after the game. "We moved Xavier Carlton back to linebacker for the first time all season and we moved from the 4-2-5 to a base 4-3 to try to slow Jeanty down. We had almost 1,200 pounds on that defensive line and Carlton's 6'6", 275 pound frame was huge in helping keep Jeanty bottled up enough to gang-tackle the monster that he is."
For a Cal team that was very disappointed not to reach the ACC Championship, the win moves them to 10-3 on the season when many were expecting them not to make a bowl game. "I can't say enough about this group of kids. They fought their asses off all season, got some breaks here and there, and they didn't let themselves get down about not playing in the conference title game."
He also praised Coach iRoc for having a strong gameplan to make it hard for Ott to get going. "iRoc and I faced off last year in the Mountain West title game and it was a battle. He's always got his guys prepared and it's a chess match out there when you're going up against his team. He threw some different looks at us on defense and we were fortunate not to leave points on the field."
When asked about his future at Cal, Coach JasonUK was noncommittal. "The athletic director and myself will sit down in the next few weeks and discuss things. I love it here at Cal but I've not yet made any decisions."
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